Lauda- raise pit lane speed limit

[andburg]

seems Herr Lauda wants to see the 80km/h pit limit raised to 150km/h as the lanes these days are as wide as freeways....

to me this is stupidity! quieter cars travelling at higher speeds through crowds of people. Cars pulling out in an unsafe release situation with huge speed differential. How many get injured when Car A is released into the path of Car B at 150kph with half the reaction time? race red flagged because they need to remove the shards of broken carbon, cars and bodies of 3 gun operators from the pit lane?

[Eric Mc]

I like the idea.

[RichB]

andburg said:

...quieter cars travelling at higher speed...

It would be Lauda.

[suffolk009]

I like the idea too, can't see the problem.

I was watching Nascar last night. Three quarters of the field pitted at the same time! It was a bun fight to get back out, but nobody hit anybody. The F1 stewards would have handed out unsafe releases to everyone in the pits.

[Jasandjules]

I am in 2 minds - the F1 cars aren't exactly slow to stop if there was a problem but there are a lot of people around should it go wrong. Perhaps 100kph though.

[TheAngryDog]

I cannot remember when the speed limit came in and why it did. Was the pitlane really such a dangerous place though? I dont recall *that* many incidents?

"Motorsport is Dangerous"

etc.

[Eric Mc]

The pit lane speed limit was first introduced in the raft of "safety improvements" brought in after Imola 1994.

I think somebody was hit in the pits that weekend - on top of all the other disasters that occurred.

[supertouring]

The new Ferrari boss nearly got taken out by one of the cars in the last race (or maybe one before) who had to slow to avoid him.

Makes no sense - safety first.

[richardgcs]

Jasandjules said:

I am in 2 minds - the F1 cars aren't exactly slow to stop if there was a problem but there are a lot of people around should it go wrong. Perhaps 100kph though.

Perhaps a serious culling of the number in the pits would not only make it safer but also reduce costs-two men to change each wheel seems an uneccessary extravagance- \le mans makes do with just 2 for all 4.

[sad61t]

supertouring said:

The new Ferrari boss nearly got taken out by one of the cars in the last race (or maybe one before) who had to slow to avoid him.

Makes no sense - safety first.

Massa in practice at Austria:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LYNDgDJiGg

http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2015/06/ferrari-boss...

As far as I'm concerned, since the limit is applied equally, it has no material effect on the race outcome, so it makes no sense to endanger the pit lane crews. It's not just the cars, but also any parts that might come off, a good example would be Webber's loose wheel in the pit lane (N'ring 2013 - www.youtube.com/watch?v=UodUgJhM_nA ) which would have been far worse if Webber had been travelling faster.

[GTIAlex]

Worst youtube link ever posted on pistonheads.

[sad61t]

GTIAlex said:

Worst youtube link ever posted on pistonheads.

Thank you, took some finding; Massa in a Ferrari romp suit was fully compliant with media research standards. The robotized woman's voice nailed the excitement of modern F1. And I particularly liked it that her voice-over had no relationship with the current frame.

Edited by sad61t on Monday 13th July 17:38

[Mr_Thyroid]

Pointless. There is no reason to put the people in the pits in more danger. Even a broken leg is too much.

[Sam.F]

I was watching the 1993 Hungarian GP highlights show on Sky last night (from the days before there was a pitlane speed limit), there was a seriously near miss when someone crossed the pit lane right in front of Damon Hill. 80kph does seem slow but 150kph seems too high... where would you draw the line?

[Jasandjules]

Whatever way you look at it, the speed limit is the same for everyone.

[Derek Smith]

I like Lauda and he talks a lot of sense in the main, although not exclusively. I've found that if my first reaction to something he's said is that it is stupid, then if I look at it again, I often realise where he's coming from.

I've looked at this again. It is stupid.

[RobGT81]

It's one of the only things in F1 that doesn't need fixing.

Eric Mc said:

The pit lane speed limit was first introduced in the raft of "safety improvements" brought in after Imola 1994.

I think somebody was hit in the pits that weekend - on top of all the other disasters that occurred.

I seem to remember Alboretos wheel coming off in the pitlane and wiping out some Ferrari mechanics?

Edited by RobGT81 on Tuesday 14th July 08:29

[Eric Mc]

I can kind of see where he is coming from though. With most of the risk and danger removed from F1 it is becoming a little anodyne and, to use a modern expression, "meh".

I really do think that F1 is fading as an event and its only trajectory is now down.

Now, whether removing some of the safety features introduced since 1994 is advisable is another matter - but the sport is dying and we may not have it at all in ten year's time if serious thought is not given to what it is about.

[Ahonen]

Jasandjules said:

I am in 2 minds - the F1 cars aren't exactly slow to stop if there was a problem but there are a lot of people around should it go wrong. Perhaps 100kph though.

It was 100kph (apart from Monaco) up until that journo was hit by Webber's wheel in a practice session a couple of years ago.

Speaking as someone who has worked in pit lanes for over 20 years I don't want cars coming towards me at 150kph in that relatively confined space thank you very much. I'm well aware of what it was like 'in the old days' from my first pit lane experiences as a youth in the '80s, when pit lanes were full of people and the cars ran flat out. What it must've been like at Le Mans before there was even a pit wall I honestly shudder even to imagine.

The pit lane is not the place to be artificially introducing 'danger'.

suffolk009 said:

I like the idea too, can't see the problem.

I was watching Nascar last night. Three quarters of the field pitted at the same time! It was a bun fight to get back out, but nobody hit anybody. The F1 stewards would have handed out unsafe releases to everyone in the pits.

The NASCAR pit lane speed limit is 55mph, or less than 100kph. Increasing the speed limit by 50% changes things a bit.

Edited by Ahonen on Tuesday 14th July 08:49

[Derek Smith]

Eric Mc said:

I can kind of see where he is coming from though. With most of the risk and danger removed from F1 it is becoming a little anodyne and, to use a modern expression, "meh".

I really do think that F1 is fading as an event and its only trajectory is now down.

Now, whether removing some of the safety features introduced since 1994 is advisable is another matter - but the sport is dying and we may not have it at all in ten year's time if serious thought is not given to what it is about.

There has to be a reasoned argument for a change brought in ostensibly for safety.

I think it was reduced from its original limit to lengthen the time a pit stop took so as to add 'excitement' to the race as much as safety, but there were incidents before it was dropped.

I'm not sure speeding up pit stops would do anything positive. I am certain that going fast in the pit lane will add very little. At Silverstone it would add nothing, even if you were in the stands opposite.

It might be that he is just trying to generate discussion. There should be no sacred cows. But 150kph is dangerous I think, and for no advantage.